MusV_X_098765

Title: A message stick from Central Australia in Museums Victoria

Description: MV object description, PDF: "Message stick is cylindrical and tapers slightly towards blunt ends. The surface is decorated with finely incised zig zag patterns around the stick. The stick has been rubbed with a white pigment... The pigment is very worn and now barely visible"

Date Created: 1890

Notes on date created: From "primary comments" on the date made.; c. 1890

Item type: message stick in a collection

Cultural region: Central Australia/ western desert

Dimension 1: 180mm Dimension 2: 15mm Dimension 3: 15mm

Materials: pigment, wood

Techniques: carved, incised

Institution/Holder file: Museums Victoria object identifier: X 98765

Collector: Donated by Mr Robert Edwards, the Christensen Fund Primary comments in MV register note that it was "Acquired from the Entwistle Collection Cat No. 169".

Media copyright: Museums Victoria

Notes: From original worksheet:"Small round stick used to convey messages from group to group across the Western Desert". Other Number/s: R399; 169 Acquired from the Entwistle Collection Cat No. 169 Date made:c. 1890" 1995–07–3 (date registered) MusV data: "X 098765, Message stick, Central Australia, Australia, Registered The Christensen Fund (Donation) The Christensen Fund Collection " 21.11.24 PK: The catalogue sheets for the Christensen Fund are in a separate box and with a separate set of accession numbers prefixed with CC. They are not easily matched to items in EMu. PK eyeballed some of these sheets and found many tjurungas and two message sticks (there may be more). At least one of these message sticks was described in very similar terms as a tjurunga. This item, and others in the Christensen collection will first need to be associated with the paper catalogue sheets. Circumstantially, the Christensen "message sticks" may be ceremonial boards. However, in this image it is clear that it is not a tjurunga.

Media Files:

Data Entry: Piers Kelly, Alexandra Roginski